"Hey, are you guys going to the Wuhuang Valley to visit the boss today? If so, please take this for me."
Gu Qing sauntered over with a big bag in hand. It was so hot outside that Teng She was sweating profusely. He carelessly lifted the collar of his shirt to wipe his sweat.
"Eww..." Nan Jia moved his chair away in disgust at the sight, but was picked up along with the chair by Gu Qing and pulled back.
"Will you die if you don't show your love?" Fufeng, who came to visit but was force - fed dog food, couldn't stand it and covered his eyes and stepped back.
"So, are you going or not?" Gu Qing was extremely satisfied with his wife in his arms.
"I'm not going. Last time I took little Zhaozhao, who was still growing, to listen to an audiobook there. The boss kicked me out of the door. I'm afraid for my life if I go this time."
Fufeng patted his chest with lingering fear, indicating that he needed more time to recover.
Nan Jia and Gu Qing were occupied. Taotie was guarding Zhaozhao, who had just germinated and hadn't grown much, with Su Yuan every day. He was even less reliable.
"I'll go. Give it to me."
A cold female voice came from the door. It was Song Yao.
She was dressed in a neat black windbreaker, with her hair pulled up high. She looked a bit travel - worn, obviously just back from a mission.
The once pampered young lady had shed her delicate air and now appeared even colder.
"Okay then." Gu Qing readily handed the bag to Song Yao. Song Yao opened it and saw that there were several large bags of various fertilizers inside.
She expressionlessly sorted out the items one by one. "Zhaozhao doesn't need this fertilizer. I won't take it."
Then she left with the remaining things.
Nan Jia sighed softly looking at the unclosed door after Song Yao left. "Alas, when will the boss be willing to bring Zhaozhao back?"
As soon as he said this, the air suddenly fell silent, and everyone's mood became gloomy.
Three years ago, Zhaozhao sacrificed herself to lead away the Weak Water. When she exhausted all her spiritual power, she brought everyone back to life, but disappeared forever herself. Only a dry seed was left in the scorched earth.
Su Yuan held the seed at that time. Heartbroken and desperate, he wanted to follow Zhaozhao to the grave. It was the useless Heavenly Dao that finally woke up and stopped him.
It told Su Yuan that a wisp of Zhaozhao's soul, protected by the Taiqing Jade that Fufeng gave at that time, had fallen back into the seed.
As long as the seed was planted and carefully taken care of, maybe one day Zhaozhao would come back.
This "maybe" gave Su Yuan the hope to live on in despair. He returned to the Wuhuang Valley and lived in seclusion there ever since, waiting for two years. Finally, he waited for Zhaozhao to germinate and grow into a tender sprout.
At that time, Gu Qing and the others were happy for this ill - fated couple. But as time passed, even a single second had gone by, yet the little sapling of Zhaozhao hadn't grown a bit.
No one knew how many years they had to wait for her to transform back into a human form.
In the Wuhuang Valley.
Su Yuan had just watered Zhaozhao and was holding the small sapling to bask in the sun. After the barrier was broken, everything here had returned to normal.
When Song Yao came in with the things, the sunlight was just shining on Su Yuan, who was sitting in the rocking chair. He was holding the flower pot in his arms, looking like a picture of tranquility.
"I'm here to see Zhaozhao."
Song Yao put down the things and looked at Su Yuan, meaning that she wanted him to let her hold Zhaozhao for a while.
Su Yuan didn't refuse Song Yao because he knew Song Yao's position in Zhaozhao's heart. But he never liked these people to come often and disturb his peace.
Since that incident three years ago, Su Yuan had refused all normal interactions.
So Song Yao always had to leave after only saying a few words to Zhaozhao. But today, for some reason, Su Yuan didn't come to urge her even though it was already several minutes overtime.
However, for the sake of future visits, Song Yao still left on time.
Before leaving, looking at Su Yuan's lonely figure, she said something to the sapling. "Zhaozhao, grow up quickly. You don't want to see him so lonely, do you?"
At night, Su Yuan sat at the table holding the flower pot. He usually did nothing but just quietly looked at Zhaozhao.
Today, perhaps because of too much sun exposure, the few thin and tender leaves of the little sapling were drooping listlessly.
Su Yuan reached out worriedly and touched them. "What's wrong?"
The little leaves that he touched, which had been listless one second, suddenly curled up and affectionately rubbed against Su Yuan's finger the next second.
"You can feel it, right?" Great joy enveloped Su Yuan. He had an urge to cry.
As if understanding his words, the little leaves rubbed against his finger again and even swayed proudly from side to side.
That night, Su Yuan was so happy that he couldn't sleep all night.
When he woke up the next day, there were several guests in the small courtyard of the Wuhuang Valley. They were Zhaozhao's senior brother, sister, and younger brother.
Yue Yao greeted Su Yuan and then handed a bottle to him. "This was sent by Master. It was the thing beside Zhaozhao when he first picked her up. He said that during the years he raised Zhaozhao, he had been using this on her."
Hearing the word "Master" from her mouth, Su Yuan's face suddenly turned cold, and he didn't reach out to take it.
Yun Ze stepped forward when he saw this. "We all understand that Master did something wrong in the past. He knows he is sorry for Zhaozhao, so he asked us to send this. Even if you hate him, Zhaozhao still needs it."
At that time, Cheng Sang found the Queen Mother of the West. When the Queen Mother of the West saw Chong Ming for the last time, she didn't say anything but just gave him a bunch of letters.
At that time, Zhaozhao couldn't write. So - called letters, actually, the content inside was all drawn by her.
In the letters, the innocent little girl always repeatedly asked the Queen Mother of the West, who had the most contact with Master, what to do when Master was unhappy, what Master liked, and where to find the tea that Master loved to drink...
Those letters played their role at the last moment. Chong Ming stopped his actions and even died for Zhaozhao.
Now, because Zhaozhao had been resurrected, he knew he had no face to face Zhaozhao and had been shutting himself in the cave for a long time.
A while ago, he suddenly went out. When he came back, he brought the things in this bottle and asked Yue Yao to give it to Su Yuan.
Su Yuan finally reached out and took it, for Zhaozhao's sake.
Yue Yao and the others didn't stay long. After they left, Su Yuan carefully checked that there was no problem with the things in the bottle and then watered some on Zhaozhao.
The moment the things in the bottle were poured on, a white light exploded, making Su Yuan close his eyes.
When Su Yuan opened his eyes again, a little girl of two or three years old was sitting right on the table where the flower pot had been placed.
The little girl was as delicate as a carved jade doll. Her big, watery eyes stared at Su Yuan without blinking, and she stretched out her little hands towards him. "Hug... Su, Su hug..."
Su Yuan was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He gently picked up the little girl in his arms. "Okay... Su Yuan hugs..."
—
The Monster Management Bureau was extremely lively today. Lord Longzun didn't know where he had abducted a little girl of five or six years old. A group of monsters were chattering and gossiping non - stop.
"What?!" Taotie jumped up and pointed at the little girl in surprise. "You said this little kid is the stupid master? Are you kidding me!"
He had just been out for a few days, and when they met again, the tree had turned into a human? And such a little kid??
Su Yuan gave Taotie a cold glare when he heard his words. Only then did Taotie realize what he had said and sat down nervously.
Zhaozhao was growing very fast. Although she had looked only two or three years old on the day she transformed, after one night, she had grown to be five or six years old.
He still felt a bit unbelievable. How could the transformation turn her into a child all of a sudden? He completely forgot that he himself had once been a child for a while.
Although the five - or six - year - old little girl Zhaozhao didn't understand what Taotie was saying, it didn't stop her from thinking that Taotie's words were unpleasant. So she sat beside Su Yuan and pointed at Taotie, clearly and correctly commenting. "Rude. Bad kid."
"???"
Taotie was completely confused. Su Yuan lovingly stroked the little girl's head and seriously agreed. "Yes, bad kid."
Well, seeing Su Yuan's reaction, all the monsters were sure that this must be Zhaozhao.
Regardless of whether they were surprised or not, Nan Jia was almost melted by this cute little kid.
He inched closer to Zhaozhao and asked for Su Yuan's permission. "Boss, can I take the little sweetie for a while?"
Su Yuan observed Zhaozhao's reaction to Nan Jia. Zhaozhao obviously liked Nan Jia very much. Leaning against Su Yuan, her eyes kept looking at Nan Jia. So Su Yuan nodded and agreed.
Nan Jia excitedly ran away with the cute little tree - kid in his arms.
"Now we have to raise her up slowly like raising a child, right?" Gu Qing looked at his wife's departing figure and turned to ask Su Yuan.
Su Yuan calmly nodded. "It should be."
Tsk. Gu Qing enviously stroked his chin. Raising one's own wife from a child, how exciting it was!
If Su Yuan knew what he was thinking, he would probably kick him mercilessly.
The good news that Zhaozhao had transformed couldn't be hidden. Soon, a large number of people gathered in the Monster Management Bureau. Song Yao was especially excited. She hugged Zhaozhao and cried non - stop. In the end, it was little Zhaozhao calling her "sister" sweetly that comforted her.
It was almost time, and Su Yuan came to pick Zhaozhao up.
When leaving, Gu Qing looked at him and asked. "When do you plan to come back? Or, have you ever thought about coming back?"
"Let's talk about it later. I want to give her a happy childhood. She suffered too much in the past." Su Yuan carried a pink schoolbag full of water cups, snacks, and enlightenment picture books prepared for little Zhaozhao and led her away.
"Yuanyuan, are you unhappy?" Zhaozhao had always called Su Yuan like this since she could communicate fluently. Su Yuan never taught her this, and he didn't know where she learned it from.
"What's wrong? Why do you suddenly ask this?" Su Yuan stopped, squatted in front of Zhaozhao, and wiped the sweat on her forehead from playing too excitedly.
"I don't know. I just feel that you seem not happy enough."
"No. I'm very happy. As long as you are by my side, I will always be happy." Su Yuan carried Zhaozhao in one arm and slowly walked towards home.
Hearing this, Zhaozhao immediately tightened her arms around his neck and leaned against him seriously. "Then I will always be with you."
Hearing this, Su Yuan hugged the girl in his arms even tighter.
When they got home at night, Su Yuan took out the pre - prepared vegetables from the refrigerator and made cola chicken wings for Zhaozhao, which she had pointed out on the tablet during the day.
The little girl hugged the bowl and ate very contentedly.
Su Yuan cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, then played games with her for a while. After it was time, he took her to wash up and then prepared to go to bed with her in his arms.
Zhaozhao had always been very obedient and listened to Su Yuan. Lying in Su Yuan's arms in bed, she closed her eyes, and her curly eyelashes cast a shadow under the light.
Su Yuan was fascinated by the sight. Suddenly, he kissed her on the forehead, leaving a good - night kiss.
"Baby, don't make me wait too long, okay?"
Since Zhaozhao transformed, except for the very beginning, he had always been very calm.
But only he himself knew how scared he was inside. This fear was mixed with excitement and the lack of a sense of security for more than three years.
In her sleep, Zhaozhao seemed to sense something and softly responded in his arms.
Early the next morning, Su Yuan woke up from countless chaotic dreams. He subconsciously reached out to the side, but was suddenly stunned.
Where was Zhaozhao?
He looked around but didn't see Zhaozhao's figure. His heart almost stopped.
He rushed out of the room bare - footed and searched the whole villa up and down but still didn't see her.
The familiar despair came over him again. Su Yuan rushed out of the door but suddenly stopped.
In the yard, a familiar figure was squatting beside the flower bushes, carefully pruning the branches of the flowers.
Hearing his movement, the young girl turned around. It was the one he had been yearning for day and night.
"Zhaozhao..."
The wind blew, lifting the hair beside the young girl's ears. Zhaozhao looked at him, tilted her head, and smiled. "Su Yuan, I'm back."
Su Yuan didn't dare to make a sound or step forward, afraid that this was another beautiful dream he had imagined.
The young girl ran towards him, stopped in front of him, gently hugged him, and stood on tiptoe to leave a kiss on his lips.
"You said not to make you wait too long, so I tried very hard to come back."
The warmth on his lips reminded Su Yuan that this was real, not a fantasy.
He couldn't hold back anymore. He wrapped his arms around Zhaozhao's waist and kissed her deeply.
"You really can't leave this time."
"Okay, I'll never leave again."
All the waiting was like the spring breeze passing by, giving birth to endless longings. At this moment, the time was just right, and happiness firmly landed in their hands, lasting and long - lasting.
— The End of the Main Text —